VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat underscored that the potential extreme weather in the seasonal transition must be anticipated by promoting disaster mitigation in the community.

"Promoting disaster mitigation in a country surrounded by volcanoes and with the potential for extreme weather is a very important effort," she said in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday.

According to her, the impact of changes in weather, which can potentially cause disasters, must be anticipated as well as possible. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that the moderate El Nino phenomenon will end in February 2024.

Furthermore, she continued that with Indonesia's condition as a country that is prone to disasters, all citizens must be given adequate understanding and knowledge to mitigate various disasters.

Moerdijat stated that efforts to increase the understanding of disaster mitigation can be carried out through learning processes at various levels of education.

She noted that the dissemination of information on disaster mitigation must also be given to community groups to improve their knowledge and understanding.

She added that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) had made efforts to realize the resilience of the community in responding to disasters, among others, by developing the Disaster Resilient Village (Destana) program, which was first initiated in 2012.

The MPR deputy speaker assessed that the more people at all levels understand disaster mitigation, the better disaster management efforts in the country will be.

She added that efforts to overcome natural disasters actually require the involvement of policymakers and all elements of society to ensure the protection and safety of everyone in the country. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Thailand's inflation rate fell for the first time in 25 months, thanks to falling energy prices due to government support measures and lower food prices, the commerce ministry said on Monday.

Thailand's consumer price index (CPI) (THCPI=ECI) fell 0.31% in October from a year earlier, versus a 0.3% year-on-year rise in the previous month, according to data.

The figure compared with a forecast for 0.0% for October in a Reuters poll. The core CPI (THCPIX=ECI) was up 0.66% year-on-year in October.

Headline inflation has been below the central bank's target of 1% to 3% for the sixth consecutive month.

In the January-October period, the headline CPI rose an average 1.60% from the same period a year earlier, with the core CPI up 1.41%.

The ministry still sees headline inflation at 1.0% to 1.7% this year.

In September, the Bank of Thailand's monetary policy committee unexpectedly raised the key interest rate (THCBIR=ECI) by a quarter point to 2.50%, the highest in a decade, saying growth and inflation should pick up next year. It will next review policy on Nov. 29. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Sunday strongly condemned the killing of a Filipino journalist and ordered the police to conduct an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The journalist, Juan Jumalon, also known as "DJ Johnny Walker", was shot by unidentified assailants while broadcasting from his home in a southern Philippine town on Sunday morning, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said in a statement, citing initial reports.

"Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated in our democracy, and those who threaten the freedom of the press will face the full consequences of their actions," Marcos said in a post on X platform.

Media watchdog NUJP also condemned the "brazen killing" which it said was caught on a livestream of Jumalon's show. Jumalon's home in Calamba, Misamis Occidental served as his radio station.

Jumalon's killing brings to four the number of journalists killed since Marcos took office in June 2022, and to 199 since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986. That figure included 32 killed in a single incident in 2009.

The Philippines has one of Asia's most liberal media environments, but it remains one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, particularly in its provinces.

It ranked as the eighth worst country when it comes to prosecuting killers of journalists, according to 2023 Global Impunity Index released by the Committee to Protect Journalists released this week. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, starting the first visit to China by a leader of his country in seven years, said on Sunday it was "in all our interests" to have a bilateral relationship with dialogue and cooperation.

Australia will continue to work constructively with China, he said in a short speech to the annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai, which was opened by Premier Li Qiang.

Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016, part of an effort to patch up relations that had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, espionage and COVID-19.

After the speech, addressing media alongside Trade Minister Don Farrell, Albanese said he welcomed Li's comments at the Expo and described them as "very positive". Li said China will further expand market access and imports.

Farrell said after meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday he expected impediments on Australian seafood and red meat products to be removed "in a very short space of time".

Albanese, in his speech, described the relationship between the two countries as "mature" and said it was "energised by the complementary nature of our economies".

"Along with the other economies in our region, Australia and China have prospered thanks to the certainty and stability that is made possible by rules-based trade," Albanese said, according to an official transcript.

Albanese's government has worked to stabilise ties with China since coming to office last year, and China has lifted most trade blocks imposed in a 2020 diplomatic dispute that cost A$20 billion in commodity and food exports.

"We continue to highly value the World Trade Organisation, whose role as an independent and respected umpire benefits us all," Albanese said, without directly mentioning any disputes.

Albanese, on Monday, will meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the prime minister has said he will raise concerns over rising tensions in the South China Sea.

On arriving in Shanghai late on Saturday, Albanese said it was in Australia's interests to have a positive and constructive dialogue with its major trading partner.

Albanese said on Saturday, before leaving for China, that the much-anticipated visit to meet with Xi and Li marked a "very positive step" in stabilising strained bilateral ties. (Reuters)